PDA and broadband

Below is an email i wrote for a friend who is also keen to buy but too lazy to do research =)

*

PDA got OS (the one with handphone in built), palm and pocket PC.

Location at IT show:
Palm- level 6 on your left (orange signboard)
HP Pocket PC: level 4 in the middle/right (got many booths)


Things to look out for in PDA:
- size
most of them are quite comparable. the smaller ones have other disadvantages, so i din even consider.

- designHP pocket pc looks quite cool and sleek (iPAQ 1950), i would have bought it but it has no bluetooth and difficult to share program. Palm generally looks the same- rectangularish; either silver or black.

- price
my personal budget is around 500 bucks, and i kept to it. i guess an acceptable price is around 350 to 600. but if u earn more and can afford it, then Palm LifeDrive is quite good (fast and high memory capacity)
- weight
generally weighs around 120g to 160g. shouldn't be too big a factor.
- battery life
i think for tungsten series (E2, E3, T5), battery may run out quite fast. but we dun really use it continuously, so i guess it's alrite.

- other functions and properties
this is a very impt factor and it includes: bluetooth (which enable u to exchange/share programs between friends and PDA--computer), Wi-fi (wireless network for internet access), types of cards used (SD usually), memory (tungsten has very low memory like 32MB only, TX has 128MB, LifeDrive has an amazing 4 GB), processor speed (i think as long as it is above 300MHz then good enuff), screen (TX has a big screen), resolution (most are 320x320 with 32000 -64000bits), camera, software (mp3 player/email outlook/word processors) etc...and of course in IT fair, u look for gimmicks and freebies too.

PALM:

Model (price after discount):
1) TX (which is the one i bought) - cost $499
2) Tungsten E2 - cost $329
3) LifeDrive - cost $649

Advantages:
there were more medical programs running on palm, and more pple has palm, so can exchange more prgrams with each otherDisadvantages:
runs with a palm system, unlike pocket pc which runs on window (same as your win XP). but i heard it's quite easy to use too.


Pocket PC (mainly HP series):

Model
1) iPAQ rx1950 ($599) - promotion item; has Wi-fi but no bluetooth, nice design, free 1GB SD card/pouch/photo kit
2) hx2190 ($599) - has bluetooth but no Wi-fi
3) hx2490 ($899)- has both bluetooth and wi-fi. but i think it's too expensive for a PDA

Advantages:
runs on a window platform; nice looking; and HP is supposed to be the best brand for PDA

Disadvantage:
steep price; difficult to share programs with peers.


So for me, since i am buying mainly for medical use, i choose a palm. i choose TX because it is within my budget, looks cool, has big screen, has both bluetooth and Wi-fi. I think the following can be considered:
1) palm TX
2) palm Tungsten E2 (cheap- 329 bucks; but 200MHz speed and 32MB memory)
3) palm Lifedrive ( fast 416MHz, huge memory 4GB, has both bluetooth and wi-fi BUT expensive 649 bucks-- i will buy this if i have lots of $$)
4) HP rx1950 (affordable 599 and nice design; but no bluetooth/difficult to share program)

For more info:
Palm: www.palm.com/sg
Pocket PC: http://welcome.hp.com/country/sg/en/prodserv/handheld.html